Defiance of the Heart
by Hana Sanyi Kaze
Summary: Rinoa Heartly is your average high school senior with no direction in life. Everything pretty much sucks, from love to academics, she just gets no breaks. That's when Squall Leonheart stomped into the picture... only to make it much, much worse.
1. Defiance of the Heart: Chapter 1

**_Summary: Rinoa Heartly is your average high school senior. Except for one thing. She doesn't know where she's going in life. She's given up on everything; academics, friends, talents, interests, love, you name it. Why? Simply because, nothing ever goes her way. The one person she's been in love with for her entire high school life, is a jerk who couldn't give a crap about anyone, her teacher's hate her, and her family is being torn apart. That's when Squall Leonheart walked into her life. Could it really be any worse?_**

**_- Defiance of the Heart -   
_****_- Chapter 1 -_**

Fire. Fuel. Ambition. I hated it when they said it. Like on a cold windy day, their words swept through me like that chilling breeze, going right through whatever protective barriers I held up against them. It cut through me like a thousand knives, cutting me…right to my very bones. I had always felt that way. The stranger. Standing alone. Outside on that cold windy day, I would stare at others. Always looking in. Always, on the outside. The voice at the front of the room had long begun to bore me. I had drifted far from it long ago. Drifted, just as I drifted from everything else in life. My studies, my ambitions, my so-called talents, my love interests. Nothing really seemed to matter anymore. And why would it? It was all just a bad dream, I would sometimes think. But if this was a dream…then what was reality? Maybe there was no reality. Just the endless cycle of happiness, breakdown, and tragedy. Then there was that rebounding stage that lead you back to happiness again. God I hated it.

"Miss Heartly, care to share your thoughts with the rest of the class?"

My head snapped upwards towards the direction of the irritated voice. Who else but my calculus professor. His thick black eyebrows were furrowed, his eyes small and glaring towards me, in my direction. He was tapping his foot impatiently, as if expecting a reply. When I didn't answer, he sighed.

"That was not a rhetorical question, Miss Heartly, it does require a response."

I gulped, my pupils dilating. What now?

"I … I uhh…" I began intelligently.

"Your mental absence never ceases to amaze me Miss Heartly. You know, if you plan on coming to class in flesh, you might as well bring your smarts as well. Or just don't come at all."

His voice sounded sterner than usual. It caused my heart to speed up in slight fear, my cheeks stinging red as my ears picked up soft snickering from directions all around. I wanted to look. I wanted to see who it was. But I would not dare. It would only be more humiliating.

"I don't think she comes with any smarts at all, sir," an amused voice slurred out from the back. I couldn't help but turn. I couldn't help but look. The voice had belonged of course to none other than Seifer Almasy himself. My eyes caught his for a moment, his turquoise clashing with my deep ocean blue. There was something cruel in those eyes. Something cold, hostile, and unwelcoming, yet something fearless, defiant and bold all at once. He always looked down on people. I hated it. But I loved him. I always have. Don't ask me why. He isn't a very liked character. But for some reason, I had always thought him to be different. We used to get along I suppose. But not anymore. Who would have thought I could still care about someone who constantly humiliated me. As if a sudden flood of emotions hit me, I stood up quickly lowering my head allowing the raven locks to cover my eyes so that the tears I shed would not be seen. Picking up my books I stalked out of the room quietly, ignoring the whispers and quiet laughs that continued to haunt my ears from all around me.

Once outside, a good distance from the dreaded classroom, I dropped my books. They fell with a loud thud, spilling over the hallway floor. My head was still low, my teary, sad eyes still shielded by my hair. Sighing, I slid down the wall I was leaning against. Bringing my knees up to my chin I whimpered softly, hugging myself. I could subconsciously hear the soft padding of feet coming towards me. I ignored it. I didn't want to look up or acknowledge their presence. I hoped they just didn't see me. Why should they? People usually didn't see me anyways. The padding stopped.

"Um..excuse me but, are you ok?" a high pitched, almost perky sounding voice asked.

I opened my eyes and slowly looked up. It took my eyes some time to adjust after all those worthless tears I had cried out. A girl stood in front of me. She was about 5'3, extremely scrawny I might add. However she seemed to hold so much life in that tiny little structure of hers. Her big eyes were a bright vibrant green, her hair a chestnut brown, reaching down to her shoulders. It seemed to stick outwards slightly adding to her vibrancy. Her frown of concern was quickly replaced with a warm smile as she saw I had responded.

"I'm fine." I said through a shaky voice. I didn't know when it had gotten so weak.

"You sure?" she inquired again, a look of worry crossing her face once more. "Ya look like ya had an encounter with that jerk Seifer or sumtin."

I couldn't help but feel my heart sink. Everyone said that. I almost felt angry. 'He's not a jerk!' I wanted to yell. But what did I have to back those words up. What was I even thinking? Look at me. Sitting here, crying over something that _jerk_ did say…

"I'm Selphie!" the girl exclaimed, holding her hand out in introduction.

"Rinoa," I croaked, taking the petite girl's hand as she hauled me to my feet.

She frowned once again. "Why don't I see you around? I know like everyone in this school, but I never see you."

I hated it when people said that. The reason they never saw me was because I was always invisible to everyone. Or just because I was in places where you usually wouldn't see people anyways. Like on the school roof, skipping class, gazing at the sky. Sometimes I'd lie there, staring at the clouds, hoping some strange airship would swoop down and just take me away somewhere where I didn't know anyone. That's what I really needed. To go somewhere where _no one_ knew me.

"I..don't really go to class as much as I should I guess," I replied hesitantly, eyeing the girl known as Selphie carefully for some kind of negative reaction,

She simply blinked.

"Well, Rinoa, you certainly don't look like the type to skip class. But hey whatever, your decision." She chirped the last sentence, smiling brightly again. "Sooo wanna tell me what happened?!"

"No."

"Aww…" she sulked for a moment. It was evident she didn't like the fact that I didn't trust her.

"You're not used to having people not tell you things are you?" I inquired.

Selphie eyed me curiously. "Not really. I mean, people usually trust me ya know. I like to help people, and that's why people tell me they troubles, ya know?"

"I see."

"Say, you wanna go for lunch with me? I'm starving and it's almost one o'clock anyways."

I paused for a moment. Could I really trust this girl? But then again, did I really have reason not to? She seemed friendly and helpful enough. Not only that, it was only lunch. It's not like she could pull some nasty joke on me in such a short amount of time. Right? Of course. What am I thinking? Not everyone on this planet is like everyone I know…

We made our way out of the building and down the street. The streets were bustling with life. Cars zoomed up and down the streets none stop. People yelled at each other out of anger, but also out of greeting. I gazed across the street as a girl no older than myself waved frantically at a group of teens a few metres down the street. They quickly joined together exchanging hugs and smiles. I wish I had someone like that.

I was quickly shaken out of my thoughts as Selphie made a sharp right turn into the local Macdonald's. The girl was practically skipping as we walked up to the ordering counter.

"Ummmmmm, I'll have a happy meal, with a diet coke, no ice pleeeease. Annnnnd I'll have a smarty McFlurry with extra caramel sauce!!" the short brunette chirped at the scruffy looking guy at the counter who was pressing the buttons on his ordering machine frantically, attempting to keep up with the speed of Selphie's voice.

"I'll just have a cheeseburger and sprite please." I ordered politely.

After receiving the orders we slowly made our way around the restaurant, looking for a clear table. Unfortunately all the students tended to swarm the fast food places during lunch making it impossible to find an empty seat if you were more than two minutes late.

"Hey! Selph! Haul your ass over here before you get trampled by the nerd club!"

I spun around to the sound of the voice. To the left, a boy with blonde hair, jelled forward waved at us. He had a goofy looking grin on his face, a black tattoo running down his left cheek. He was definitely a skater punk of some sort. I think I had seen him before, in history. He had a good sense of humour. Always made jokes about the teachers. I think his name was…

"Zell!!! Heyyy what are you doing here I thought you were at the skate park!!" Selphie chirped as she dragged me over to the table where the blonde known as Zell was sitting. There was someone sitting with him. His light brown hair was tied back in a ponytail, and he wore a cowboy style hat, covering his facial features.

"Well I was gonna, until Irvine here convinced me it would be a bad idea, considering we got chased out by the cops last time." The blonde replied still grinning. Finally noticing me, he turned eyeing my curiously. "Friend of yours?" he asked, his grin shrinking ever so slightly.

"Yeaaah this is Rinoa. Rinoa, these are my buddies, Zell, and Irvine."

Zell gave a goofy wave, while Irvine looked up for a moment revealing attractive facial features, before smirking, and tipping his hat at me.

"Hey don't mind this guy, he's just a weirdo," the boy known as Zell laughed, hitting Irvine playfully on the shoulder.

"Hey hey hey, come now, I ain't the one skating in graveyards," Irvine replied defensively, earning a grumble from Zell.

A quiet beeping interrupted my thoughts as I looked down at my wristwatch. It read 1:45. Lunch was over.

"Hey, it's been great talking to you guys but uhh, I should run now I don't want to be late for class…" I said as I backed away slowly trying to get myself out. It's not that I didn't want friends. I really did. It's just that, this was all just too much for me to handle, and I needed out. Fast.

"Whaaat don't tell me you're THAT excited to run off and LEARN, are you?!" the blonde skater exclaimed in awe.

I paused momentarily, lowering my head and staring at the ground in embarrassment. "Well see…" I began, trying to think up the least humiliating sentence. "I..I have art. And I really like art. It's…probably one of the only things I enjoy." I mumbled to the blue and white tiles.

There seemed to be a moment of silence when all time stopped.

"Art eh? You must be talented to love it so much to actually want to go to class."

Blinking, I looked up to meet Irvine's honey coloured eyes. They were warm and considerate.

"Umm, yes…" I replied stupidly. "So I'll…see you around then?" I asked unsurely looking from Irvine, to Selphie, to Zell.

Selphie grinned from eye to eye. "You bet!"

8888888

I sighed as I rapidly walked out of the restaurant. That wasn't so bad, I thought to myself. They seemed nice enough. Now, if only I could get to that stupid art class on time, things would be just fine.

I could hear Mrs. Talbot, my art teacher, giving out instructions to the class. Wait, those weren't instructions. Those were introductions. A new student must have transferred or something. Oh perfect timing Rinoa. I scowled at myself for having such impeccable timing. Now I'd have to walk into the room in the middle of a student introduction. Oh well, been through worse.

Turning the doorknob, I slowly opened the door. It squeaked slightly, encouraging everyone in the room to turn and look at the intruder. Me.

"Sorry I'm late Mrs. Talbot."

The elderly woman sighed, "That's alright dear, just don't let it happen again. I'm sorry Squall, please continue."

Squall? I turned to the figure known as 'Squall.' As suspected he was new in this class. I had seen him around in the halls. Actually, I think he was in my calculus class. Oh dear Lord. That means he saw my little scene today. I audibly gulped. He seemed irritated by my intrusion. In fact, he seemed easily irritable all together. His icy blue eyes pierced through me with a dangerous glare. Despite the deadly look on his face, he was relatively attractive, I suppose. He had dark brown hair, relatively short, however a piece of it hung to his right cheek. His skin was pale, and porcelain like, somewhat like my own, only mine tended to turn red from embarrassment a lot more.

I felt uncomfortable under his glare. It reminded me of Seifer's glare, only this one wasn't exactly malicious like Seifer's. It was just…annoyed. I slowly turned to make my way to my seat, not before crashing into a stool, hitting my knee, and knocking over the watercolours. The class erupted in laughter, leaving me hopping in pain. I winced as I hopped over to my usual seat at the empty table. I was always the only one there.

Mrs Talbot shook her head, a slight smile evident on her old thin lips.

"Squall, have a seat over there at Rinoa's table. She's always all by herself anyways."

I could feel my face heat up slightly. The new student, Squall looked at me indifferently. The irritation somewhat left his face. He strode over to me silently, sitting down on the stool next to mine. I turned my head to examine him. His eyes were closed, and his arms crossed. He almost seemed to be concentrating or something. As if feeling my eyes on him, his own snapped open, immediately finding their way to me.

"You want something?" he asked coldly.

Gulping once again, I shook my head. This guy seemed more unapproachable than my calculus teacher, and I really didn't want to get on his bad side. He glared momentarily, before turning away again, listening to the instructions given by Mrs. Talbot. We were to draw a scenery of our choice. Something we remembered from out childhood. Something that represented freedom. It took me a while to think of this scenery. There really was no place in the world that I felt free in. I thought for a moment. Well, there was that one place. It was an old abandoned house, where no one lived. I think it used to be an orphanage. It closed down long ago though. I used to go there whenever my parents would fight. I couldn't stand their yelling and screaming, it just completely made me go insane. So whenever I was feeling down about it, I'd run away, and I'd run to that orphanage. Maybe because it was a place where children were, where there were no adults to really control them, or hurt them. To me, that lack of control was freedom.

Before long class had ended, and we were to hand in our drawings. Mrs Talbot eyed me warily as she looked at mine. Even I had to admit, it was rather depressing for a place that was supposed to represent freedom.

The day was now over, and somehow I had managed to get through it alive and in one piece. I walked rather quickly. I couldn't wait to get out of this place. I stared at the dark pavement as always, ignoring the shouts of the other students around me. However, before I could reach the street, I was bumped rather hard from the side, sending me crashing to the ground. I winced.

"What the..?" I looked up to see a flash of blonde hair. "Seifer?"

Yes, it was Seifer, and he did not seemed too pleased. A trickle of blood fell from his lips. He seemed to have been hit quite harshly by someone. My eyes followed Seifer's cold glare to the figure standing a few metres away. Squall. He also didn't appear very thrilled. Before long, Seifer had already attacked Squall, obviously wanting to get back at him for the earlier hit. The two exchanged numerous blows, but Squall seemed to be a superior fighter, obviously more skilled. One final punch sent Seifer cascading to the ground, blood running out his nose. By now a huge crowd had gathered, watching the fight, and cheering on. Squall cautiously walked over to the blonde, who was attempting to stand. Suddenly out of absolutely nowhere, Seifer spun around, lashing out at his unsuspecting opponent, something sharp and metallic in his left hand. With one slash, Squalls head snapped to the other direction, blood flying from his face.

I gasped. It seemed from here that he had been slashed dead. But that was not the case. A dark red line was now visible across Squall's left eye.

That was definitely going to leave a mark.

A/N: GAHA!!! First chapter complete!! Tell me what you think!!


	2. Defiance of the Heart: Chapter 2

**_A/N: ahh sorry for the wait. Had some…inner conflicts about the plot XD. Anyways. Enjoy!!_**

**- Defiance of the Heart -**

**Chapter 2**

Blood stained the dark pavement of the school parking lot. Squall looked up at his smirking rival, blood running down his face, dripping onto the ground. A low feral growl emitted deep in his throat as he slowly stood, ready to attack.

"Stop this at once!" a shrieking panicked voice demanded from behind the crowd of students.

Everyone turned to see Xu, the assistant head of school, rushing towards the two squabbling students.

"Oh. My. Goodness. What is this? Seifer! Why do you have a knife?! Give me that!" she said ripping the silvery object from the blonde's grip. "Good Lord! I swear I'll never understand you stude- OH MY LORD! Squall your face! Quickly, get to the infirmary!"

Squall scowled to himself as he was roughly pushed towards the school entrance nearest to the infirmary by Xu. For a woman of such small stature, being so young, she sure had a lot of authority. And no one questioned it.

I gulped as I slowly stood, dusting my blue cotton sweater off with my hands. I couldn't help but groan as I noticed all my books scattered around the parking lot thanks to the raving students that had shoved me over oh so graciously. "And all I wanted was to get out of here," I mumbled as I went around recollecting all my textbooks and loose notes. A flash of silver caught my eye as I picked up my sketchbook. Blinking, I moved my hand to the shiny metallic object. It was a silver chain, with a shiny silver ring as the pendant. A Lion-like creature was engraved onto it. Blinking I thought for a moment. I was pretty sure I'd seen it on Squall when I had first seen him in the art room.

"Well, better return it to him, since he's still here anyways."

Hauling myself up, I made my way back to the school entrance near the infirmary.

"Now dear, hold still. This will sting for just a moment…"

Squall hissed in pain as the nurse dabbed some anti-bacterial disinfectant on the now clear wound across his left eye.

I poked my head into the infirmary room just in time to hear Squall cursing violently at the nurse. My face distorted in distaste. He didn't seem very happy. "Maybe I'll just give it to him Monday…"

------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------------

"Ahhh please Instructor Trepe I need this mark real bad, will you just give me a chance just this once?! I promise I'll write up the best report you'll ever read!"

The comment was returned with a flat stare. "Nice try Dincht. You know my late mark policies. This assignment is over two weeks late. You have a 70 deduction anyways. I will not accept any work from you. I really don't care if it was signed by Jesus Christ himself."

Zell's permanent grin faltered. "Wowww…are you serious? Even if Christ, the son of the Virgin Mary signs is?"

Quistis' blue eyes narrowed at the blonde teen. "Yes Zell, even if Christ, the son of the Virgin Mary signs the damned thing."

A knocking at the door interrupted the two from their argument. Xu walked in looking very exasperated. Sighing heavily she started pointing to the door. "Quistis, we need you, Almasy's at it again."

---------------- ------------------- -------------------- -----------

Quistis slumped her shoulders in defeat. She just wasn't getting to him.

"Had enough yet, Instructor?" Seifer spat, emphasizing the word 'instructor.'

The blonde guidance councillor gritted her teeth in frustration. "Almost, Seifer. Almost."

Seifer smirked. "Listen beautiful. There really is NOTHING you can do to change me. And I don't care what your pretty little blonde head is thinking right now, so just stop trying."

That was it. "Listen you little conceited ASS. I work here, and you will address me with complete and utter respect, or I will have your sorry behind suspended. Do I make myself clear, Almasy?" Quistis snapped at the arrogant blonde, standing up abruptly, knocking her chair over and pointing an accusing finger.

"Perfectly, Instructor." Seifer cooed softly, his smirk never fading, his confident demeanour never faltering.

Quistis sighed. "You're suspended anyways. So is Squall Leonheart. It's just to let you both cool down a little and… think things over for a while."

"Right…"

"You're dismissed."

-------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------- ----------

Squall cussed silently to himself as he kicked his car. "Piece of fucking junk," he scowled. The engine wouldn't start, again. With one final bang against the engine, a low rumbling sound emitted from it, as it finally began to function again.

Muttering more crude phrases to himself, the stoic seventeen year old sat in the car, slamming the door, and speeding off. What a perfect day. First he gets his face sliced in half, then gets suspended for getting his own face sliced, and now his cars functioning abilities were becoming rather questionable…

----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

Great. Rain. I wanted to scream. First I flee from my calculus class because the 'love of my life' is a jerk. Then Mr. Sour Pants decided he'd like to hate me for no reason. Then I get shoved over during a fight, making my new sweater all dirty, and ruining half my books, and NOW it's going to rain, soaking me, and my books, and my hair, and that guy over there is staring at my chest. Damn shirt. Glaring daggers at the guy, he finally looked away. I could hear footsteps behind me. I hated it when people walked behind me. It made me feel like I was being stalked, and followed. Glancing behind me, I noticed a few guys, in their early twenties walking behind me. They had stupid grins on their faces and seemed to have been whispering something about me. I walked faster. So did they. Now this was making me nervous. I crossed the street. They crossed with me. I turned the curb. They turned with me. Suddenly, I felt pressure on my left arm. Someone had grabbed me. I spun around, attempting to break free. Only cynical laughter followed by more hands, grabbing at me. My mind went blank. I didn't know what to do! I screamed. Loud, and as best as my lungs would allow. But it seemed hopeless. Everyone had run off home too quickly, the sky was dark, and rain was pouring down. Who the hell would be out at a time like this?

------- --------- ---------- ---------

The engine seemed to gurgle a bit before completely dying out.

"Fuck," squalled cursed as he leaned back in his seat. At this rate a snail could beat him home. Sighing in anguish, the teen opened the door and stepped out, only to be greeted by thousands of little water droplets, quite effectively showering him. Growling, the boy stomped over to the front of his car, where he practically ripped off the front hood, sticking his head in trying to find out what the hell was wrong with his piece of shit now. He was quite rudely interrupted out of his scowling fest as the sound of almost inaudible screams met his ears.

"OW!! LET GO OF ME YOU BASTARD!!!" was something along the lines of what he heard. Hmm…that voice sounded awfully familiar.

Squall was quickly able to put two and two together. That was most definitely the klutz he met in art class. Oi, what the hell had she gotten herself into now.

Curious, the stoic walked in the direction of the screaming as it got louder, and louder, and louder, and louder…

I kicked furiously as one of the thugs grabbed my angle. WHY ME?! This was NOT fair. One pulled my hair furiously after I kicked his buddy. I winced as I felt some of my delicate strands rip out of my skull. Oooo he was going to pay for that one.

"Alright honey, time for you to give us our fun…" One of them said. The comment was followed by cynical laughter coming from all around. I felt delirious, like I was going to throw up. Now would be a good time to send your guardian angel down to me, God.

The sound of a fist painfully connecting with a face was heard, as a loud thud followed suit. I cracked one eye open, looking around to see one of the pedophile goons missing. Oh wait; he was just sprawled on the ground missing a couple of teeth. Hm, wonder how that happened.

"What the fuck?!" one of the pedophiles yelled as the looked towards their attacker who was…who was….Squall?! Oh my goodness gracious, Squall came to save me?! I don't think I had ever been so shocked in my entire life. People I had known for ten years usually wouldn't turn their heads or flip their hair for me, but some guy I had barely known for a day was playing my knight in shiny armour? What does this guy want anyways…?

A loud grunt sounded as the last of the thugs hit the wet pavement with at least one nasty smack to the head. Squall scowled to himself as he stared down at the battered girl.

"Look at you, you're a fucking mess. Don't you know now to walk around alleys when it's dark?"

She blinked up at him for a moment. At first she seemed grateful, judging by her facial expressions, but something changed as her face contorted with distaste.

"You know, I was going to thank you, but if you just came here to lecture me on how to live my life, I didn't need YOUR help, thank you very much." She lectured, standing up and looking herself up and down. Tilting her chin upwards she spun around and began to walk away.

Ha. No way was he giving her the satisfaction of the last word.

"So…you're saying you could fend off those six guys all by yourself…without ME."

She froze for a few moments, earning a smirk from Squall.

"Well…" she started, "What if I could, I think I could have. I was doing JUST FINE before you showed up." She lied.

"Mm…so you meant to get your hair ripped out and get thrown to the ground. I see. You know, each of those guys was a good head taller than you, and at least 175 pounds. You saying you could take them all?" Squall challenged, his smirk never faltering.

"Uhh…yeah….for sure.."

"Alright…so that means you could take me too then?"

Rinoa gulped audibly. "Well…you kicked their butts, so you obviously know how to fight, and so therefore I obviously couldn't hurt you."

A soft chuckled emitted from the boy's throat. "Right." And with that, he turned to stride away, back to his car…which wasn't working.

"H-hey! Aren't you gonna offer me a ride home?"

"Nope, why would I do that?"

"Well that's the way it usually goes, right? Guy rescues girl, then offers her a ride home?"

"Sorry.., only in the movies."

He gave her one last smirk before entering his vehicle.

"Jerk…" Rinoa muttered under her breath. Her hostility was short lived however as she quickly realized Squall was having some trouble starting his car. Dying motor sounds reached her ears, followed by cursing and swearing on Squall's part.

"Hah, sucker. You can't even get your car to start. Now you have to walk home too!" She exclaimed, pointing at him accusingly.

"Why me?" he muttered under his breath.

"Karma." Rinoa called out

"What?"

"Karma… well bad karma in this case."

"What the hell is Karma?" he asked, irritating beginning to get the better of him.

"Well, it's like this energy you produce based on everything you do. If you do good things, you make good energy, and good things will happen to you in turn, If you do bad things, then you make bad energy. And then well, what comes around goes around." Rinoa nearly chirped that last sentence, hoping she was beginning to get to him.

"Argh, silly girl. I just saved your life. I should have good things happening to me."

"Well…you did the right thing. But for the wrong reason!"

Squall eyed her carefully. Peculiar girl. Rolling his eyes he turned to walk away.

"Whatever…"

Rinoa blinked.

"H-hey! Was that 'whatever' acknowledgement? Yo!! You can't just leave me here!" she yelled after him as he continued walking. "What if these bums wake up and try to rape me!!"

"Well then you better get moving!" he called over his shoulder.

Rinoa wanted to scream. What a jackass!! Who did he think he was?! However, he left her with little options. Without another thought she ran after him.

_I've been looking in the mirror for so long…_

_That I've come to believe my soul's on the other side._

_All the little pieces falling…shatter._

_Shards of me, too sharp to put back together._

_Too small to matter…_

_But big enough to cut me into so many little pieces._

"Sooo…Squall, I haven't seen you around before. Are you new or something?"

Squall sighed. "Yeah, you could say that."

"So, umm, where do you come from?"

"The orphanage…"

_Take a breath and I try to draw from my spirit's well._

_Yet again, you refuse to drink like a stubborn child._

_Lie to me._

_Convince me that I've been sick forever…_

_And all of this will make sense when I get better._

_But I know the difference,_

_Between myself and my reflection._

_I just can't help but to wonder,_

_Which of us do you love? _

"S-so..you're an orphan?" Rinoa stuttered in disbelief.

"Yes. I always was. I really don't see what's so shocking about it." Squall stared at the ground, refusing to meet her gaze.

"Well it's just. I don't know many orphans, I guess."

"Whatever. You should head home now."

Rinoa stopped walking then, realizing they had reached her street. Squall on the other hand kept walking. His head was still down, and his hands shoved in his pockets. The raven-haired girl stared after him. Rinoa looked down at the shiny silver necklace she still failed to return to him. She thought she had always wanted to be someone like him. He always seemed so tough and strong. Like he never needed anyone.

Suddenly, he seemed so lonely.

**_R & R!!! That song was 'Breath No More' by Evanescence by the way for those of you that are interested. _**


	3. Defiance of the Heart: Chapter 3

_**- Chapter 3 -**_

Rinoa sat in the confinements of her dark gloomy room. Staring out the window into the night, she really didn't seem to care that her English comparison essay was due the following morning. Her thoughts were elsewhere…particularly on a brown-hair blue-eyed stoic, currently residing in the local orphanage, much to her dismay and disbelief.

I wonder why he's so secretive about everything. Maybe… maybe he's had some rough times…like me? Argh, Rinoa what are you thinking. Of course he's had rough times… he's an orphan! They're probably a hell of a lot rougher than yours…

Sitting in quiet contemplation, Rinoa continued to pester herself about the boy's estranged past, shrouded in mystery.

_Maybe he just doesn't trust me. But why wouldn't he? _Her thought was followed by a pregnant pause, a soft ironic chuckle of sarcasm escaping her lips there after. _What is wrong with me? I'm such a fool. Of course he doesn't trust me. He barely knows me. Heck, I don't trust people either, and I'm just feeling sorry for myself. _

With that final thought, Rinoa allowed herself to flop prostrate onto her back, the white and blue mattress creaking against the worn wooden boards beneath it. Closing her eyes, she felt the enticing spell of sleep come over her, causing her to roll over and rub her eyes back to reality. Finally deciding it was time to start that essay, the raven-haired teen slid off her luxurious queen, and made her way over to the polished oak desk where her laptop rested.

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Squall stripped off his dirty white t-shirt and tossed it into the dirty laundry pile. Sighing, he eyed his corner of the room he shared with his roommate. Something wasn't right. He'd felt it ever since that fight with Seifer. As if on instinct, his hand reached up to touch his silver chain. Instead, he felt warm skin. Cursing silently, the loner teen spun around towards the pile of dirty laundry compiled on the floor by his desk. Tossing things around and checking pockets, it slowly occurred to him that his chain indeed must have fallen somewhere during his fight, and picked up by the random by passer.

He sudden felt so empty. That chain was a part of him. It had been ever since he was a child. Without a second thought, Squall pulled on a clean shirt, grabbed his leather jacket and headed out to search of his lost possession. There was no doubt in his mind that it could possibly still be lying around somewhere on the now wet and muddy grounds of Balamb. It always came back to him, no matter what.

Squall jumped over the fence protecting the younger children from outside the orphanage. Running towards the school where the fight had taken place, a million thoughts raced through his mind from earlier on that day.

'_Karma…maybe that's why this is happening to me? Bad karma…' _

Squall shook his head, attempting to shoo the thoughts out.

'_Bull.'_

Finally reaching the school grounds, the seventeen year old slowly approached the pavement where the fight took place. The black tarmac was still stained with crimson blood. It was either his, or Seifer's. Squall decided it was his blonde opponents, leaving a swelling feeling of satisfaction in his chest.

After almost an hour of relentless searching, Squall sighed in defeat. His chain was no where to be found, and it was evident that someone had taken it.

"It's no use…" the boy mumbled to himself depressingly.

"Maybe you're just not looking hard enough?"

Squall spun towards the voice, his instincts taking over.

"Who's there?!" he yelled into the direction from which the voice came.

The fields and pavement were covered in a thick white fog, a result of the drenching thunderstorm from earlier. Out of the mists, a young girl, a few years older than Squall appeared. A calm smile played on her lips as she tilted her head to one side, examining the boy in front of her.

"It's alright. Don't be alarmed. I live over there beyond your school. I usually just take walks here after it rains. The most beautiful rainbows appear around here afterwards." She let out a small chuckle. "Who would have known?"

Squall eyed the girl cautiously. She was a strange one, that much was certain.

"Do I…know you?" he inquired slowly.

The girl blinked, pausing momentarily. "Hmm.. I guess not. My name's Ellone. Nice to meet you!"

"…Hi."

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Rinoa furrowed her eyebrows as she stared down at the unfamiliar symbols, a distant look on her pale face. Math… the subject she hated the most. Sighing, she pushed back against the desk, her chair sliding away. There was nothing she hated more than being reminded of a bad memory, especially when it had to do with Seifer. A familiar throbbing began in her chest as she stared absently out the window. The storm had cleared and had left a messy chaos on the roads, the remnants of the sky's stormy anger. It was all that was left, just like the shattered memories of people who had experienced suffering and their own personal pandemonium within their hearts.

"I need to go for a walk…" Rinoa concluded. Slamming her book shut, she rose from the chair, making her way outside.

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Squall stared awkwardly at the girl. Where had she come from? What was she doing here? Why the heck was she even talking to him? Shrugging off the questions, he cautiously looked around, noticing the fog start to lift.

"Well, looks like it's finally starting to clear up," the girl known as Ellone said. "I better get going – and good luck finding whatever it is you're looking for!" she smiled pleasantly, before turning to leave.

"Hey! Hold on a second!" Squall shouted after her, but nearly choked in dismay when the thick fog, just as suddenly as it had vanished, settled in once more, covering the mysterious girl's trail as she walked away. The moody teen crossed his arms in thought. "What the hell," he murmured to himself, before he too, turned to leave. However, the fog was so thick, Squall could barely see past his own hands and feet. He could hardly make out his own body, let alone the world in front of him. Growling in frustration, he began to walk, not caring where he ended up.

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Rinoa tensed as she looked around.

'_Everything's completely smothered in fog,'_ she thought to herself, unable to comprehend where the sudden mist came from.

Originally she wanted to go to the old schoolyard. There was hardly anyone ever there at that time of the day, but the peculiar weather had made the task exceedingly difficult. She knew she was on campus. She could tell by the shape of the now faded building in front of her. The only problem was, she couldn't tell if she was in the back or the front.

"This is realllyyy my day," the teen muttered to herself, becoming plagued by self-pitying thoughts once again. "Oh stop it Rinoa," she said to herself. "You're being ridiculous. Home is like ten minutes away… you won't be eaten up by the fog and die ten thousand miles away from civilization!" The girl continued to mutter to herself as she walked; completely unaware of where she was going. She had unconsciously reached into her pocked, and thumbed the silver ring, which she had found on the bloody pavement the other day. For whatever reason, it made her feel safer, and not so alone. Firmly grasping it, she pulled the ring out of her pocket, and stroked it as she walked. Rinoa then looked down in the midst of her jabbering to eye the shiny object in her fingertips. Still walking, and not seeing where she was going, the raven-haired teen felt herself collide into something hard, causing her to drop her new best friend.

Startled by the impact, Rinoa gasped, falling back on her behind. Shaking her head the girl groaned.

"Ow… I don't remember there being a wall there,' she proclaimed, not looking up.

The wall grunted.

Blinking, Rinoa slowly raised her head, only to meet a pair of sharp, stabbing, icy blue eyes.

"Squall!" she squeaked, the hair on her back standing on end, realizing she still had his ring, which had just been dropped. Lunging forward, Rinoa grabbed a hold of the ring before the boy in front of her could notice it, and quickly scrambled to her feet. For whatever reason, she didn't want to give it back yet.

"What are you doing here?" he asked indifferently, though he felt suspicious.

"Nothing," she answered curtly.

"I thought you hated school…"

"I do."

"Then why are you here?"

Rinoa gulped. "Sometimes I like to come here… when no one else is around. It makes me feel free."

She hated it. She hated the way she would always answer him so honestly. What had he done to deserve such honesty?

"…Whatever."

Rinoa's head jerked up to face him. "That's it?" she questioned, mild shock evident in her voice.

Squall simply stared back, seeming unmoved by her small outburst. "….What more were you expecting?"

_What more were you expecting? Is that all he can say? Hell… what more WERE you expecting Rinoa… some kind of heartwarming story? A gut-spilling confession? Get real. The guy wouldn't feel a knife through his soul…_

Squall side beside her, bringing the girl back from her thoughts. "Well, if that's all… I'm going home. It's been a long day and I've got a lot on my mind."

Rinoa snorted at this. "You have a lot on your mind? Since when do you think about ANYTHING that would provoke emotions?"

Her comment was returned by the look of a thousand daggers flying a thousand miles an hour straight at her. To this she had to laugh. "Oh come one! Lighten up Squall. It was just a joke… you can take a joke, right?"

"Can you?" he returned seriously.

"Huh? Of course I can! People joke about me all the time…" she trailed off, wondering exactly what she was trying to say to him.

"That's my point," he interrupted. "People make fun of you all the time, and all you do is mope around and sob about it. Then you keep trying to put on this 'oh don't worry about me, I'm happy' façade, when really you're not. You should stop caring, and just depend on yourself - "

"And what? Be like you? All Mr. Lonewolf, I don't need anybody because I'm soooo independent and anti-social and boring and mean!"

"…Whatever."

"HAH! Well then, I'm going home, thank you very much. This place isn't really like it used to be… uhh Squall…?"

"…What now?" he sighed.

Rinoa looked around anxiously. "This place is COVERED in fog. I can't see a thing! I don't know which way to go! Oh no… I really suck with directions and I'm always so disoriented… I get lost on a clear sunny day…. There's no way I'll find my way home in fog like this! SHIT! SQUALL! WE'LL BE STUCK HERE FOREVER!!"

Squall sighed again.

"…Whatever."


End file.
